Brinker-owned Chili's backs off autism event after backlash

Chili’s has canceled a fundraiser for a group that states on its website that autism can be triggered by vaccinations, a position that has been widely discredited by the medical community.

To honor National Autism Awareness month, the restaurant chain had planned on donating a portion of its sales on Monday to the National Autism Association, based in Attleboro Falls, Mass. On a section of its website, the group says it believes that vaccinations can “trigger or exacerbate autism in some, if not many, children.”

The belief that the battery of vaccinations routinely given to infants could lead to autism was spurred by a British study that has since been retracted. Many studies have discredited the link.

On Sunday, Chili’s said on its blog that it was canceling the event based on feedback from its guests.

Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association, said in a phone interview that she was “shocked” by the backlash and “this group of individuals that is trying to pigeonhole us as anti-vaccine.”

Fournier noted that the National Autism Association’s focus is on safety issues for children with autism and that it doesn’t have any programs related to vaccines.

“We haven’t even looked at that page — it’s been up there for years,” Fournier said of the section on the group’s site that says vaccines can trigger autism. She said the group hasn’t decided yet how to proceed, but that it may consider changing the language at some point down the road.

For now, she said no changes would be made because the move might be criticized as well.

“This could have made a huge difference in how we could have served at-risk individuals in the autism community,” Fournier said of the planned fundraiser.

Dallas-based Brinker International has more than 1,500 Chili’s locations around the world. The company said in its blog post Sunday that it would find another way to support families affected by autism.

A representative for Brinker, which also owns Maggiano’s, did not respond to a request for comment.

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